As Jake Bittle makes clear in his urgent and unsettling new book The Great Displacement, our time is up ... In both substance and setting, Bittle’s well-researched and vividly conveyed account distinguishes itself in the crowded field of climate change reporting by relying on catastrophic events that have already taken place, and that happened right here in the United States — events that caused loss of life, loss of community, loss of culture, and loss of innocence ... Unlike much contemporaneous disaster reporting, Bittle keeps the proverbial cameras rolling long after the winds have died down and the waters have receded.
[Bittle is] an empathetic writer, but also one with a real gift for explaining the fraught issues — economic, scientific, political — that make the climate crisis and its effect on the population so complex ... The Great Displacement is a fascinating look at how America has changed, and will continue to change, as climate change wreaks havoc on the nation and the people who live there.
... multifaceted examination of the effects of climate change ... Environmental journalist Bittle effectively uses a combination of science reporting and personal stories to explain the fates of entire towns deemed uninhabitable ... He provides vivid descriptions and accessible technical explanations, but the most powerful parts of his narrative detail the lives of individuals ... Presenting powerful and moving evidence, the author ends with a plea for comprehensive environmental policy change and urgent action.
Bittle aims to examine the array of climatic forces that are eroding our vulnerable communities and the assumptions of climatic stability they were built on ... An impressively panoramic snapshot of a shared moment in time, the eerie interregnum of early-stage ecological breakdown and social reorganization ... By the end of The Great Displacement, we are left with a disquieting sense of inevitability.
An urgent, perceptive analysis of how climate change is already changing where Americans live ... Bittle delivers expert accounts of seven humanitarian disasters, all within the U.S. and currently in progress ... A simultaneously fascinating and unnerving report brilliantly delivered.
Captivating ... The foregrounding of individual voices adds to the book’s power and sense of urgency, and Bittle is an expert explainer of policy matters. This is a captivating look at a pressing issue.
